Last week, the Chicago Plan Commission had Norfolk Southern on the agenda. The scheduled vote was supposed to be just a formality in language - adding “light industrial/commercial classification” in the tax increment financing (TIF) to allow the company to expand. But residents successfully lobbied commissioners to delay a vote after they showed up at the commission meeting.

Residents want concrete promises from the company to address environmental hazards and economic development. They worry about health impacts of truck traffic. Englewood already has some of the highest asthma rates in the city. What the rail company has offered isn’t enough for activists and residents.